Roped In
by NatureG45
Summary: Being this close to her father is enough to make lucy feel uneasy enough as it is. But having to interview him? That's pushing it. At least she's found someone to distract from that in the mean time


"See something you wanna wrangle Lu?" Cana propped herself up on her knuckle, leaning further into the old yet sturdy wooden fence.

While it wasn't unusual to see the ghost of a smirk tugging at the corner of her lip, this one evolved to a full grown grin, wickedly mischievous like the cackle she let loose at Lucy whose only response was a light ' _mhmm_ ' with her eyes focused elsewhere inside the paddock.

Cana could laugh all she wanted but Lucy's had a long day, which is bound to turn into a long and tiring week. Sure she didn't normally ogle cute guys, maybe spare them a glance then continue on her way, but this was a different case.

When there is a guy running around with horses inside a paddock, kicking up as much dust as his equine companions without any sign of slowing down and a tired grin pulling at his lips, simply _sparing a glance_ doesn't cut it.

It was like that scene straight out of George of the Jungle minus the billowing shirt and sunset when he leapt on the back of a particularly rowdy stallion. It reared up on its hind legs trying to buck him off but only succeeded in whipping it's mane in his face, to which he let out a laugh lost to her on the wind. But she knew it was hearty from the way his eyes squinted and how he threw his head back.

Cheesy romance movies were right. Men and horses make a great combination to distract from real life. Especially since she's on her father's ranch for the first time since he brought it into fruition.

Leave it to the man, a retired stock broker, to have not only one of the wealthiest ranches in the country but also somehow managed to breed the best racehorses since Seabiscuit. Not to mention the other horses Heartfilia ranch put out were either rodeo stars or making big screen appearances in most tween movies.

Yup, the old man was making the Heartfilia name even bigger than it used to be, attracting the media's ever watchful eye. Which is where she unfortunately dropped in.

It took her years to land a decent journalism gig. Why? Well when you're the daughter of a well known business mogul trying to make her own for the first time in her life, no-one's gonna take her seriously.

Everyone figured she was some airhead heiress looking for attention so she was promptly turned down without even a shot at an interview. She was damn near about to give up and go get that job at Subway when she got a call from one of the places she'd sent her résumé.

While it wasn't the job she always dreamed of, what with her boss being like Jonah Jameson only eviller and with dumber facial hair, she hadn't had any major difficulties until _now_.

Her boss put two and two together and decided, ' _hey sending Heartfilia to talk to Heartfilia's gotta mean big bucks._ ' so he went ahead, arranged an interview and shipped her to her off to the ranch with only her wits and her camerawoman in tow.

And she's been dreading it since she got off the plane. The car ride over was basically her trying to decide whether or not jumping out a moving vehicle's truly worth it, all the while staring out the window and noting the fact that really tight blue jeans were the pants of choice for everyone out here.

Clearly they weren't meant for everyone.

She got here on time but Lucy's been bouncing around the place, interviewing farmhands and wranglers, and pestering Cana to take pictures of any and everything that might be of use for the paper. Her father no doubt was doggedly pursuing her, expecting her for the interview and to hassle her about whatever else he's been holding onto since she last saw him some years ago.

But truth be told, she wasn't quite ready to see him yet and bless Cana for understanding. Despite the heat she'd yet to complain about Lucy's 'round the world journey.

"Hey, earth to drooling journalist. Are you gonna interview this one too or just keep gawking?" Cana sharply snapped her fingers in front of Lucy's face, managing to get a few blinks out of her and a breathy sigh that sounded almost dreamy.

And maybe a little bit thirsty. But who was Cana to judge?

"Lu. Earth to Lu. Hello?" She tried again, this time reaching for her weapon of choice- the camera- snapping pictures in rapid succession. The results were even better than she expected with Lucy jumping back in shock, a garbled cry leaving her and disbelief in her eyes. "I'm sorry but if I let that continue any longer you'd jump the fence to jump him." Cana's eye zeroed in on the tiny LED screen of the camera, eyebrows raised.

Yeah those pictures are definitely gonna make rounds in their friendship circle.

"You make it sound like a bad thing." Lucy grumbled, rubbing at her eyes. "Jumping a hot guy is never a bad idea but you got a job to do, remember?" Cana chastised. She pushed herself off the fence with a weak grunt and wrapped an arm round Lucy's shoulder. "Playing when you still have stuff to get done isn't nearly as fun as it should be. Trust me."

Lucy sighed, her shoulders dropping as though a sudden weight came upon them, nearly throwing off Cana's arm. "I know." She groaned. " I just, don't wanna have to deal with him yet. _I know_ he's gonna do it,force me in a corner and twist my words to hear what he wants. And when he does that, he does the pity thing like everything's _my_ fault. And I just-" Her voice quavered. Fingers tightened round her upper arms, squeezing a bit too tight but Lucy almost didn't realize until Cana pried her fingers away, replacing them with soothing strokes up and down her arms.

Lucy's eyes stung as Cana pulled her closer, tucking her into her side with a tight squeeze. "It's alright. You don't have to say it. You can ogle as long as you want, and when this is all over we can go get waffles at that diner we passed. Whaddaya say?"

Lucy tried for a watery smile. It wasn't the best but Cana accepted it nonetheless. She didn't know the full story, none of Lucy's friends knew apart from a few slivers of details that obviously couldn't paint the whole grim picture.

Lucy grimaced, curling in on herself despite Cana's calming embrace.

"Want me to snap a few pics of sexiness over there for the road?" Cana suggested, wiggling her eyebrows. "You never know when you might need 'em." She nodded in the direction of sexiness, prompting Lucy to look up. Just in time to see him thrown to the ground. A strangled sound left his throat as his back slammed against the red dirt.

He rolled quickly to the side, narrowly missing his head getting pummeled in by the stallion's powerful hooves before jumping to his feet when the horse tried again, letting out an angered whinny when its harsh stomps gained it no satisfying results.

Lucy winced, watching him dance around the aggravated beast, trying his hardest to calm it down to no avail. The carefree grin that was plastered on his face vanished into hard set lines, a seriousness overcoming his features. His stance went rigid, lowering into a slight crouch as a silent standoff ensued between him and the horse- inching ever so slightly and its tail flicking this way and that dangerously.

"Maybe we should get him some help before that though…" Cana muttered, worry creasing her brow as they both watched the horse stop to ponder, pawing the ground and snorting, bucking its head as it tried to decide whether or not maiming this guy was really worth it.

Lucy nodded stiffly in agreement, vaguely wondering how he could stay so calm in the enclosure with danger a mere few feet in front of him. Cana's arm slid from around her. " I'll stay here in case things escalate, you go over to the next paddock and grab a few of those other wranglers we saw earlier. With the way that horse's acting you'd better make it quick before It flips out again."

"Got it." Lucy warily eyed the man inside the paddock again before starting to turn away. Cana steeled her hand on the fence, ready to jump into action if needs be.

And that's when everything went to hell.

The horse reared up with a roar that no animal, let alone a horse, should ever produce. The guy leapt back as it came crashing down, staring it down with an unreadable expression. Then something crossed it, a split second glimpse of realization before a cry forced its way up from his throat when the horse bolted. " _ **LOOK OUT!"**_

He tried to give chase but it lashed out with a hind leg, catching him squarely in the stomach and sent him flying. His pained scream when he slammed against the ground did nothing to halt the beast charging towards them at break neck speed, head lowered ready to rip through the fence to freedom.

The sickening crack of wood sounded like a gunshot. Splinters and huge chunks of the fence became airborne, debris that promised injury apart from the horse, giving a triumphant whinny at last, finally on the other side.

It galloped away to freedom. If it didn't give a damn about its wrangler that it probably murdered, then it sure as hell didn't notice how it threw Cana forward.

Not a scream passed her lips, things going too fast for her to process and crashing into Lucy. Pain flared in her head before the full force of her friend's weight pushed her to the dirt, both of them letting out twin groans.

One of them groaned again, and she wasn't quite sure who with it sounding tinny and far away to her though she figured Cana, rolling off her moments later with another -more alert- groan, sounding vaguely irritated at the turn of events but that might've just been her brain muddling things up.

"Shit, Lu? Lucy? Are you awake?" She was slightly aware, being pulled up and made to rest against her friend's side. "She hit her 'ead?" A voice weakly piped up.

Maybe it came from the limping figure slowly coming into view? Her eyes were kinda blurry now.

"Yeah, just looks like a bump. I hope."

"Got some supplies for that. Can ya walk an' help me carry her?" The figure swoops into view, leaning over her slightly, their brow knitting with obvious concern.

Was that an accent? It sounded odd.

"Yeah i'm good. Is it far?"

"Just up ahead past the barn." Her head felt funny, she tried to focus but the words kept flowing in and out like an old tv just static fuzzing over words the harder she tried to focus. She felt herself being hoisted by two pairs of strong hands. Maybe if she just closed her eyes for a bit….her head might clear….

When next her eyes open she almost wishes they hadn't. A dull ache blankets her head and forces her eyes back to weak slits.

Wait. What happened?

Horse, Cana, running around the ranch, sexy wrangler…

Lucy presses a hand to her forehead to recall more and immediately pulls it back. A hiss passes through her teeth as fresh pain blazes to life from where she touched it, dying down to a weak pulse letting her know not to forget it.

Tentatively Lucy tries again, light fingers gently prodding her tender forehead and wincing slightly at the large swell she feels there. She tries to sit up but fails, sinking into the ridiculous softness of what she can only suspect to be a couch. And a fairly old one at that given how she felt brittle sponge crumbling against her palm from a tear in its seam. A frustrated sound escapes her as she struggles to rise.

"Sounds like ya finally come to." Someone rumbled nearby. Clinking and weak shufflings came from behind the couch, out of her sight. Which frustrated her even more.

She made another sound, a low whine from her throat and grabbed the back of the couch, hoisting herself up in one go. Lucy's half-concussed brain didn't particularly agree with that. Her eyes blurred slightly, the dimly lit room disappearing for a moment.

With a hard blink it returned and Lucy peered behind for whoever just spoke to her. Her eyes widened slightly, taking another hard blink and then another just to make sure that her eyes weren't tricking her with some sort of delusion. Not that she'd be complaining either way.

Holy. _Shit_.

Earlier when she ogled she _might've_ had a shirtless daydream about him (not that Cana should ever know) but was Lucy actually expecting to see him with his shirt off, slung casually over his shoulder with a small smile directed at her?

No, and damn was Lucy wrong about those romance novel covers. Apparently guys really did come as chiseled and perfect as a statue carved by the gods themselves. His pink hair was delightfully tousled, falling into dark- almost black- green eyes. Every inch of rich brown skin toned and stretched over hard muscles. Though there were a few patches, warped and silvery, that dotted his body from face to just above the waistband of his dirtied jeans.

What stood out the most however, was the vague horseshoe shaped swell on his left side. The skin wasn't broken but it still looked painfully inflamed. Despite the layer of salve coating it, she could still see the bruised purple skin just beneath, shining through.

At least she had the decency not to drool, her mouth instead falling into a soft ' _o_ ' and continuing to stare unabashedly.

Lucy was pretty sure she was obvious about it but he didn't notice, or if he did he didn't seem to care, only quirking his brow at her silence with amusement in his green eyes.

"How's ya head feelin'?" He asked, making a vague gesture to her forehead. "There's a ice pack 'n a glass a water on the table next to ya, if ya need 'em."

She nodded slowly, eyes darting to the low coffee table in front of her. The glass had a ring of water around it, racing across the tabletop and the little ice cubes in it were almost gone. How long was she out for?

She gratefully took it, chugging back its contents just realizing how _dry_ her throat is and welcoming the distraction from the man who's this close to frying her brain.

It's cool helped clear her head. Satisfied, she returned it to its place with a soft clink and took in her surroundings. Though the curtains were drawn to a near close she she could still easily make out the junk hoarded in the very well lived living room, knick knacks of all sorts overflowed from shelves and piled high in the corners. She was pretty sure the pile of teddy bears to her left was hiding a chair but she could be wrong.

At least the bookshelves actually had books, messily stuffed back in their places and extra papers about god knows what sticking out from between them. Though they housed memorabilia too, a tiny red dragon statue bared its teeth at her in a grin from underneath yellowed paper.

"You have, a lot of stuff." Lucy mused, eyeing him curiously as he stepped around the couch, pushing aside the empty glass (and…a blue lucky cat statue?) to settle on the coffee table, ignoring how it shook dangerously under his weight.

He held out the ice pack to her with a shrug. "I like stuff." He said simply. "Stuff fills space." Well he wasn't wrong.

"Yer friend's outside by the way. Seemed fine since she raided the fridge 'n stole my last beer." He chuckled, "Almost broke my hand for it."

That accent was weird, she wasn't imagining it earlier. What was it, scottish? irish? Not something she'd really expect to hear this far south. But it wasn't perfect either, there was some underlying hitch, a drag at some of his words that reminded her of Gajeel's heavy jamaican accent.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Beer is her go to when things go wrong." She grumbled, clutching the ice pack tightly to her head. "She's not so violent once you get to know her."

"Take ya' word for it then." A grin pulled at his lips before he reached back in a stretch,shirt flopping off behind him and cracking his shoulders with a satisfied grunt. He caught her gaze and his grin pulled wider, holding her stare with ease, his hands coming to rest atop his head.

Did, did he _know_? _Did he know?_

Of course he knew, she was obvious, Cana must've said something suggestive and there was no other reason for him to pull of a pose like he was a vogue model apart from that.

She takes her thirst back, he's an ass for teasing. Stupid, sexy wrangler.

He doubles over suddenly, breaking their stare when his eyes squeezed shut in pain, hands flying to his side.

"Are you alright?" Lucy exclaims, hands hovering out to help.

He quickly waves off her concern, other hand still gripping his injured side. He gingerly rose, shuffling off to the side and coming back seconds later, plopping on the table once again despite its angered shakes and nursing a small jar in his hand.

"Gotta redress this stupid thing." He mumbled to himself, pulling off the lid with a soft 'pop'. "You don't mind if I…?"

"Oh not at all. It's no problem." Already her nose started to wrinkle from the pungent odour wafting from the little container. It grew stronger as he scooped out a handful and spread it over the bruise. The black ointment was thick like paste yet he seemed unperturbed by its gross smell, no doubt used to it given the multitude of scars that criss-crossed his upper body.

"Did a real number on me, damn horse." He cursed when his hand roamed over a particularly tender spot, wiping off the rest of the ointment on his pants. The black streaks running up its side didn't really look out of place.

"Ain't the first somethin' like this happened an' probably won't be the last. We didn't need 'nother horse, 'specially _that_ one but the boss never listens. An' now the demon's runnin' wild. He'll want me to fix that too."

Hmm.. inability to listen and won't take responsibility for his mistakes? Lucy suspected right, her father hadn't changed one bit.

"Sounds like you and your boss have disagreements a lot." She said, clearly amused.

"He's an ass." He growled out, tapping his finger irritably on the table. " Half my scars are 'cause of stuff he tried an' didn't work out." He pointed to the jagged scar marring his cheek.

"Foal got stuck in a barb wire fence he installed." He explained. "Jumped in before it got worse. An' this one?" He pointed to another, an X shaped scar on his right hip. "He tried raising reindeer thinkin' they were like horses. Almost mauled me to death."

"And that one?" Lucy gestured to the broad slice that nearly wrapped around his neck, slightly faded with age. His look of annoyance faltered, something like guilt flashing past in his eyes.

His hand lowered slightly. "That one's on me. Did somethin' stupid as a kid."

"Oh…" An uncomfortable silence stretched on between them. Suddenly he jumped up from his perch on the table and flopped back on the couch next to her, sinking deep into the cushions with a heavy sigh, arms stretched back behind the couch.

"Main point is he's an ass an' i'm sorry ya gotta interview him."

"What?" "Yer a reporter right? That's why yer here right?"

"Oh, right. That." Between almost getting murdered by a horse and this encounter she had practically forgotten about why she was really here. Lucy deflated slightly, unaware of the concern on her new friend's face as he watched her curiously.

"Oi." He began softly, nudging her shoulder slightly. "I make him sound bad, but he isn't all that. He can be kinda decent sometimes." She could hear the doubt lacing his words but was grateful for how he tried even when they both knew better.

"Thanks but, he's horrible and I gotta face him sooner or later-"

The door banged open bouncing off the wall at the force, shocking both of them but he took it a step further, jumping to his feet and his face was quickly changed, concern fading behind a serious mask. Seems like someone was always on edge.

Cana stepped into the room and past the wrangler to stand before Lucy, her expression grim and forehead bearing only a light red bruise. "Dad's coming. You gotta bounce. _Now."_

"What." _"What?!"_ When she said sooner she didn't mean this soon.

As if on cue, the heavy crunch of gravel sounded outside. With two steps he was by the window, peering out the curtains. "That's the boss's truck aaaaann', that's the boss." He finished when they heard a car door slam.

His head whipped around to fix them with a confused stare, eyebrows scrunched up together as though something just dawned on him. "Wait, did ya say _dad_?! I thought ya was just a reporter!"

"Well i'm both!" Lucy blurted out, tossing the ice pack gone warm long ago to the side and flying to her feet, eyes instantly scouring the room for escape routes. She caught sight of her reflection in the glass case behind her. The knot on her forehead was comically red, the skin beneath it a sickly grey." And neither wants to see him right now! Do you have somewhere I can hide?!"

The confusion was still strong on his face, still processing the situation. Cana snapped her fingers, bringing him back. "Well?" She asked, almost harsh. "Do you?!"

"Y-yeah, the stables not too far from 'ere. He never sets foot in there."

"Good. You two start running. I'll keep the other one busy to buy some time." And she ducked out the way she came, prepared to sacrifice herself for the greater good.

"Sure she can handle him?" He leapt over the couch in a single go, landing beside Lucy who'd already thrown open the back door. "She's tough." Lucy replied jokingly, gesturing to her swollen forehead. "I should know."

He barked out a laugh, pushing her ahead of him. "Don't let me start feelin' sorry for the boss now." "Would you really?" "No."

Lucy heard Cana's faint sound of feigned surprise behind them and her father's clipped tone, obviously angry that Lucy gave him the slip again. The door clicked shut behind them and they started to sprint, neither going fast due to injuries but fast enough.

"So i'm Natsu, should I at least know your name? Or are ya gonna stay just ' _both reporter and daughter of the boss'_?" He beamed, eyes squinted slightly.

"It's Lucy." "Lucy huh? An' how long are ya gonna run around the place?"

"Why the interest?" Lucy panted, grateful to see the rise of a building nearing them. His grin seemed almost savage, as did his eyes, slowing his gait to almost a stop. Confused, Lucy slowed as well.

"Why? Giving the boss hell sounds like fun. That's why." And he barked out another laugh, hearty and strong that had him clutching his side.

Hot and wanted to screw with her dad? Oh yeah, lucy was right to take a liking to him.


End file.
